The Life of Drummer Willie Ornelas with DJ Jazzy Kat

Willie Ornelas:

Collaborations: Ornelas has performed and recorded with several major artists. Notably, he played drums on the track "Pretty Princess" for the Loggins and Messina album Finale. He was also the drummer for the Al Jarreau Band.
The Sonny & Cher Show: He is associated with the house band for the Sonny & Cher television show; other drummers have cited his impressive kit from that era as an early inspiration.
Film & Television: His work extends to soundtracks and appearances related to television series like According to Jim and L.A. Law, as well as documentaries like When Houston Had the Blues. 


Influence & Mentorship
Mentor to Tony Braunagel: Ornelas is famously recognized as the mentor of Grammy-winning drummer and producer Tony Braunagel. Braunagel bought his first drum kit from Ornelas at age 15 and credits him with being a pivotal influence on his career.
Educational Impact: He has been active in the Southern California and Texas music scenes, including teaching and performing in various "Funk Attack" groups. 


Personal Background
Origins: He attended Heights High School in Houston, Texas.
Recent Activity: He remains involved in the music community and has been credited as a catalyst for music events and benefit performances. 

blues.gr
https://www.facebook.com/willie.ornelas

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:00

Hi guys, back in the studio today. You know, this it gets better and better every day. Get to talk to people from all around the world. Today we're going out to Mexico. We're talking to Willie Ornellis. Hello, Willie. How are you?

SPEAKER_01 0:17

Oh, I'm doing fine. How are you doing?

SPEAKER_00 0:20

I am good. Holding down the fort here. So yeah, we've got a great connection. Mr. Eddie, our friend, hooked us up. So yeah, you've been out there for quite some time. You're very impressive with a lot of your musical talents. Um, I'm sure our folks that are listening in, they're gonna want to know a little bit about what you do. Willie, could you tell us what you do?

SPEAKER_01 0:45

Well, you know, I got I got very lucky. Um uh early in my career, uh, I guess maybe in my uh early twenties, uh I got hired by uh Sonny and Cher, and they brought me to Los Angeles. And uh uh from that everybody that worked on uh you know on their show uh were studio players and I got to know them and I got to get into the studio scene and uh I started doing a lot of uh records television movies, things like that.

SPEAKER_00 1:17

And Rockford Files, what's that all about? That's TV, right?

SPEAKER_01 1:20

Yeah. Rockford Files was uh the first TV show I did. Um there was uh a composer named Mike Post, um, who did uh a ton of other TV shows as well. Then I and I got to play on uh probably 99% of them. Uh and uh I mean with him just with him, I did uh uh there was Rockford Files. There was the Greatest American Hero, Magnum P. I, Hill Street Blues, uh what else? Uh LA Law I see Blossom on the list, Blossom. Blossom, I did blossoms with them, yeah. And uh uh there's there's a bunch of others that I'm not remembering Hart Castle and McCormick, uh Wonder Woman. Wonder well Wonder Woman I did with with another composer.

SPEAKER_00 2:07

Oh you did?

SPEAKER_01 2:08

Yeah, that was another composer that uh that uh hired me for that. Um and uh and you know it it it word gets around when you do that kind of stuff and you get called for that. And so I did a lot of that. Um you know I also did some touring, but I mean mainly most of my work was studio work.

SPEAKER_00 2:29

So have you been in the studio lately and and what are your thoughts on technology has changed so much? Are you still using the same patterns of how music is portrayed now versus back in the day?

SPEAKER_01 2:41

The very last studio thing I did was with uh with Lee Sklar. Uh Lee and I uh uh helped this uh friend of ours, Herb Peterson, uh do some songs for a a person he was producing. And that was uh, I don't know, maybe a few weeks ago. And uh and you know, uh the studio scene is is not my uh uh how can I say it? I'm not liking the way they do things now.

SPEAKER_00 3:10

It's changed over the years, right?

SPEAKER_01 3:11

Yeah, I prefer just getting the guys in there and playing and uh and and and making music as opposed to sitting around and d doing whatever they need and then they add music to it.

SPEAKER_00 3:24

Interesting. Yeah, it is changed uh technology. Hey, what are your thoughts on the Steinberg project? That is a technical uh instrument that a lot of folks use. Do you use anything along those lines when you're creating?

SPEAKER_01 3:37

No. No, no, I don't.

SPEAKER_00 3:40

So what program, if you don't mind me asking, because I I'd love I'd love to learn a little bit about uh the technology that you do use.

SPEAKER_01 3:47

Yeah. I you know, I uh at a at a certain point I got fed up with electronics and I sold my uh my I had a rack that you know it was like buying a uh uh a new BMW and and I and I sold it. Because I I I put I told all the contractors I do not want to play electronic drums. I'll play acoustic drums only.

SPEAKER_00 4:12

Very nice. Well it's nothing like in person. I've been over to the islands before and actually have seen where the drummers have actually played like that, and I think it's absolutely wonderful to see in person, like you said, you know, instead of just grabbing it from somewhere else. I think it's really neat, it's very soulful, right?

SPEAKER_01 4:30

Yeah, the the technology has passed me by, basically. Uh-huh. Um and and uh uh luckily I don't have that much interest in it. Really? Yeah, I really don't. Not in the technology. Um I'm interested in playing and making music and playing music and doing things like that. Sure.

SPEAKER_00 4:48

Do you write your own music as well?

SPEAKER_01 4:50

No. No, I work for other people. I'm a drummer. Right. And that's all I do. Right. That's that's the only instrument. I mean, I I play percussion as well, but I mean, uh uh I don't play any piano or bass or anything like that.

SPEAKER_00 5:02

So you let everybody else do the hard work, right? Exactly. You do the fun stuff, though the drums are my favorite. That's it. The drums are my favorite, kind of grew up on that style, so yeah, yeah, definitely. Love, love the drums. But you know, we want to talk a little bit about BB King, you know. You had some great stuff with him. He's the king, right?

SPEAKER_01 5:24

Yeah. BB was uh, you know, is first of all, he's he's uh uh uh a a longtime idol. One of the very first people that I that I listened to as far as music was Bobby Bland, B.B. King, uh, you know, little Junior Parker, and uh all those R and B uh artists that I and Ray Charles that I was into. And uh I got to work with BB, I got to work with Ray Charles, uh, I got to work with Bobby Bland, I got to uh I got to work with Little Junior Parker as well. Um but with BB, it was it was something to watch. It was a jingle, it was a commercial uh commercial for I don't know, some diabetes thing. And the producer of the commercial had every relative known to mankind at the session. Really? And every one of those people had posters and CDs and all sorts of things for BB to sign. And BB signed every one of them and had pleasant conversation with each person that came around.

SPEAKER_00 6:25

Well, that's keeping it real. I love it.

SPEAKER_01 6:27

He was such a gentleman, and at the end of the session, he just said, uh, uh hey fellas, you know, I don't get to work with you know with uh guys this good all the time. Would you guys mind hanging around and jamming a little bit? Really?

SPEAKER_00 6:40

Oh, my eyeballs would have been so big.

SPEAKER_01 6:44

We all said hell yes, and we looked at the guy in the studio and we were making signals for him. Roll the tape.

SPEAKER_00 6:50

No kidding. Wow. Do you remember the name of the commercial? I'd love to look it up later on.

SPEAKER_01 6:56

Ah, it it was something for uh a diabetes. I don't remember what the product was.

SPEAKER_00 7:01

Okay.

SPEAKER_01 7:02

And um uh and I don't I don't really know how uh how long it ran or anything like that.

SPEAKER_00 7:08

Okay.

SPEAKER_01 7:09

Um and uh and that was that. That's amazing.

SPEAKER_00 7:13

That's uh just simply amazing. Just to be in that vicinity of while that's going on and then ask asking to hang out and have a good time afterwards. We had a good time. We had a great time. I bet you shared a soda, right? Yeah. I love that. Let's go back to Sonny and Cher. Are they everything we see are they everything we've seen on the television over the years? You know, I know Cher is still around and she's still, you know, hopping away doing things and beautiful, beautiful, beautiful soul of music, too. What was that like?

SPEAKER_01 7:45

Well, I mean, they were they were wonderful to work with. They treated the musicians very well. You know, we flew around in private jets and everything when we toured. And uh they they were they were a lot of fun to uh to work with. Uh at a certain after I had been with them for almost a year or so, uh, I got a call from a group called Chase. They were they they were a very happening group at that time in the early 70s. They had a hit record, and they wanted me to come play drums with them, and I kind of wanted to do it. Um and um when they got wind of me wanting to do that, they hired they hired some old some old has been Jeff a guy named Jeff Picaro.

SPEAKER_00 8:31

Just a little name dropper there. Yeah, love it.

SPEAKER_01 8:35

Yeah, and Jeff came in. We sent him, we would send him music, we would send him cassettes, because he was afraid of his reading. Wow, he was afraid he wasn't gonna be able to read. But I gotta tell you, just between you and I. Uh-oh.

SPEAKER_00 8:47

And the rest of the world.

SPEAKER_01 8:48

No, his reading, his reading was excellent. He was a very good reader. He was much better than he thought he was.

SPEAKER_00 8:55

Ah, that's great. That's great.

SPEAKER_01 8:57

And uh, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 8:58

Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 8:59

And and then uh uh, you know, it was uh I I ended up working with them again uh after after uh they decided to get back together. Yeah, because it was a split up for a while, right? Right, yeah, they were split up for a while, and she was with uh uh Alman uh and uh and while she was still with him, they decided to do a few touring uh and a few shows and da da da da da da da da and they hired me for that. Um and uh uh and then all of a sudden they decided, okay, this isn't working. Bye.

SPEAKER_00 9:32

Okay, so they quit. Uh oh. And and that was that. And that was that. Did they ever ask you to wear some of their hippie clothes? Nah. Nah, you didn't get dressed up.

SPEAKER_01 9:45

Oh, they did. They always had us in tuxedos.

SPEAKER_00 9:47

Okay. I thought they had those wheel-away wardrobe things that coming in and out, then I guess, huh? No, that didn't happen for us. You know, we came in too late. Uh I want to talk about the greatest American hero, one of my fan favorites. My brother used to watch the show all the time when we were kids. Really? Yes, yes, yes. Great American.

SPEAKER_01 10:10

That was always a fun show. It was always a fun show to play. The music was uh uh was good, you know. It wasn't uh it wasn't anything ridiculously difficult. Uh uh, and uh and so it was fun. It was fun to do.

SPEAKER_00 10:23

Absolutely. Definitely NYPD blue. I'm gonna dig deep into the pockets. I used to watch that at nighttime with my kids when they were smaller. I'd be up in the middle of the night feeding them, and that was actually a fun show to watch. A lot of dun dun dun. What do I know? I'm just a singer in a band, not.

SPEAKER_01 10:42

Exactly.

SPEAKER_00 10:44

NYPD blue is it it's based out of New York, right?

SPEAKER_01 10:47

It well, the the it the show is about New York. Yeah. But it was generally most of it was done in uh in Los Angeles.

SPEAKER_00 10:56

Did you have a favorite of any of the shows that you were on on?

SPEAKER_01 11:00

Oh boy, let me see.

SPEAKER_00 11:03

I'm gonna date you on this, right?

SPEAKER_01 11:07

Yeah, no, I mean I I I can't say any of them were were favorites. They were all they were all good. I mean, uh on 95% of those shows, it was me and Lee Sklar.

SPEAKER_00 11:19

Okay.

SPEAKER_01 11:20

Uh and uh and so it was always fun to work with him. And uh um and they always had very good musicians, always a pretty good size orchestra. Uh and um uh it was just uh it was fun work that uh that isn't around anymore.

SPEAKER_00 11:40

Right. You're waiting for that aha moment, right? Is that what it is? But you had your aha moment. What was the furthest that you ever traveled, Willie, w when you went for music?

SPEAKER_01 11:50

Well, I mean, uh I traveled all throughout Europe and uh and uh Japan uh with uh I did Japan with Larry Carlton and I did Europe with uh uh with Al Giro.

SPEAKER_00 12:04

Very nice.

SPEAKER_01 12:05

And uh yeah, and that uh that was a lot of that was a lot of fun. There was some very good music being played everywhere. Um and uh you know, it was fun. Now, whenever I would go on the road, I had to tell, you know, the in in Los Angeles, the studio situation has these people called contractors. They contract the musicians for the composers, and so I would have to call and tell all the contractors that I was in New York doing an album. Because if I ever told them that I was on the road, in their mind, I'm on the room, I'm on the road forever. Oh boy. And they'll never call me again.

SPEAKER_00 12:46

No, there you go. You had to give a little bit of a.

SPEAKER_01 12:58

Then you get the call back. And I would call them when I come back and get back to work.

SPEAKER_00 13:03

There you go. Call my agent. That's what they said back in the day, right?

SPEAKER_01 13:06

Exactly. That was pretty much it.

SPEAKER_00 13:09

There you go. Hey, listen, if you had to tell your younger self to be in a band again today, what would you call it?

SPEAKER_01 13:17

Ooh, I don't know, man. Uh it's a tough one, huh? I mean, I I I had a band in Los Angeles called Funk Attack. Uh-huh. Uh and that's that's one of my favorite bands ever to have played in. And uh and that's my favorite music to play, so uh uh it would have to be something along those lines.

SPEAKER_00 13:37

Something with a funk in it, right?

SPEAKER_01 13:39

Oh yeah.

SPEAKER_00 13:40

Definitely. Well, Willie, you're just amazing. You are filled with a book of knowledge. Do you have a book out there? Speaking of books. I do not. You do not. I think you need to write one. Well, no, I I think I'm too lazy. Oh, geez, he's he's honest, folks. He's honest.

SPEAKER_01 13:56

Let's face facts. You know, I'm a lazy bum. I'm you know, I'm um I'm here semi-retired, living on the beach in Mexico, and uh and I'm having a great time.

SPEAKER_00 14:06

Who's better than you?

SPEAKER_01 14:08

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 14:09

There you go. Well, Willie, it's been really fun hanging out with you. Any final thoughts? Oh, no, thank you very, very much again. You know, we like the connection here on Catch Track Radio, you know, having a good time, enjoying a lot of the great stuff that goes on, especially when it comes to music and the history behind it. You're you're a legend.

SPEAKER_01 14:29

No, I'm glad you're doing this, you know. And uh thank you. Uh I'm sure that's helping a lot of people and uh and giving information, valuable information to a lot of people.

SPEAKER_00 14:38

Looking up to you, definitely, because you're a legend in your own time and I love it. And uh enjoy that warm weather.

SPEAKER_01 14:45

Thank you very much. I will.

SPEAKER_00 14:47

All right, Willie. We we'll talk with you very soon. Um perfect. Call any time. Oh, I will. I will. We'll just have to make sure we're on the right time zone. How's that? That's perfect. All right, Willie. Thank you so very much. You have a blessed night, and again, enjoy your warmer weather. And I love your book of knowledge and sharing things with you tonight. Thank you.

SPEAKER_01 15:07

Thank you, darling. See you later.

SPEAKER_00 15:09

Bye bye.